Premier League news - Late Son strike secures three points for Tottenham against Norwich
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Updated 22/01/2020 at 22:37 GMT
Premier League, Tottenham Hotspur Stadium - Tottenham Hotspur 2 (Dele 38, Son 79) Norwich City (Pukki 72)
Heung-Min Son of Tottenham Hotspur celebrates with teammates Giovani Lo Celso and Dele Alli after scoring his team's second goal during the Premier League match between Tottenham Hotspur and Norwich City at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on January 22, 2020 in
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Son Heung-Min's strike 11 minutes from time earned a nervy Tottenham a crucial 2-1 victory over Norwich in their quest for a top-four finish.
Having initially struggled to get going, Spurs became the last Premier League team to score in 2020, with Dele Alli tapping home from close range in the 38th minute.
Norwich played some nice football in response and deservedly levelled from the penalty spot through Teemu Pukki with 20 minutes left.
The Premier League's bottom side pressed for a winner, but Son's fortuitous strike earned Jose Mourinho's men a first league win in their last five, to move to within six points of the top four.
Hugo Lloris made a shock return to the Spurs starting XI having recovered from a fractured elbow quicker than expected, and he was the busier of the goalkeepers early on, Pukki and Todd Cantwell both going close.
For all their good play, though, the visitors lacked that cutting edge, and in one swift move, Spurs made them pay, with Serge Aurier feeding the ball across for Alli to score his 49th Premier League goal after good work from Giovani Lo Celso to win the ball back.
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Dele Alli celebrates his first-half goal
Image credit: Getty Images
After the break, Christian Eriksen was introduced by Jose Mourinho to try to breathe some life into Spurs, but Norwich finally made one attack pay, with Max Aarons felled in the penalty area by Ryan Sessegnon earning his side a penalty.
Pukki just squeezed the ball past Lloris for his second goal from the spot in a week, and Norwich actually looked the more likely winner as Pukki again went close.
However, Spurs benefited from a huge stroke of luck, against the run of play, to snatch victory, as Alli’s cross took a wicked deflection over Norwich goalkeeper Tim Krul, with Son arriving at the back post to sneak the ball home.
TALKING POINT
Spurs still have much improving to do. A victory was much needed for Spurs, with their chances of snatching fourth spot looking slimmer week on week. They got the job done against Norwich, but they will certainly be counting their lucky stars. Better finishing and the Canaries' survival hopes would have been dealt a boost at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, which says a great deal about how far Spurs have fallen. The football was flat for much of the encounter, with a huge defection needed to find that winner. They got out of jail this time, but better teams would not let them off so lightly.
MAN OF THE MATCH
Giovani Lo Celso. The Argentine really makes Spurs ticks from deep, and presses into the tackle high and more often than not wins possession and quickly makes the transition to attack. Jose Mourinho has already discussed his desire to make the 23-year-old’s stay in north London permanent, and having put in another stellar showing, the Portuguese will be banging down Daniel Levy’s door sooner rather than later.
PLAYER RATINGS
Tottenahm: Lloris 6, Aurier 6, Alderweireld 6, Vertonghen 7, Sessegnon 5, Winks 6, Lo Celso 8, Moura 6, Alli 7, Lamela 5, Son 7.... Subs: Fernandes 6, Dier 6, Eriksen 6.
Norwich: Krul 7, Aarons 6, Hanley 6, Zimmermann 6, Byram 6, McLean 6, Tettey 6, Duda 6, Rupp 7, Pukki 7, Cantwell 7... Subs: Hernandez 6, Stiepermann N/A, Drmic 6.
KEY MOMENTS
17’ - CHAAANCE! Great football from Norwich as Cantwell feeds Teemu Pukki, who is free, in the centre of the goal, but he cannot make the right connection and scuffs his effort wide. Has to do better from there.
38’ - GOOOOOOAAALLLL!!!! Tottenham 1-0 Norwich. There is that first Spurs Premier League goal of 2020 for Spurs, Dele Alli the scorer. Cantwell is caught in possession, and in the blink of an eye, Aurier feeds the ball across for Alli to tap home his 49th Premier League goal.
68’ - PENALTY TO NORWICH! Max Aarons felled in the box by Sessegnon. The Spurs defender knew as soon as he slid in.
70’ - GOOOOOAAAALLLL!!!! Tottenham 1-1 Norwich. After a looooooong VAR check, again, Pukki slots home in his second penalty of the week to level things up!
79’ - GGGOOOOOAAALLLL!!!!! Tottenham 2-1 Norwich. So lucky for Spurs as Son arrives at the back post to put his side in front. Very much against the run of play, Alli's cross takes a wicked defection, loops over Krul and Son arrives at the back post to nudge the ball home.
KEY STATS
- Each of Spurs' last two Premier League goals from open play have been scored by Dele Alli, with six hours and 55 minutes of game-time separating his opener against Norwich and his goal against Brighton on Boxing Day
- Son Heung-min has been directly involved in 11 goals (6 goals & 5 assists) in his last 10 Premier League matches against newly-promoted sides.
- Teemu Pukki has now scored against each of last season's top five Premier League teams (Man City, Liverpool, Chelsea, Spurs and Arsenal); he is the only player to have done so in 2019-20.
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